‘No doubts about performance,’ says Rizwan ahead of Champions Trophy

KARACHI: Pakistan’s white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan on Tuesday, expressed confidence in his team’s ability to perform well at the highly-anticipated ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to commence on Wednesday.

Rizwan, who led Pakistan to three consecutive ODI series victories since assuming the role in October last year, suffered his first setback as the skipper during the recently held tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa.

The tri-nation series saw hosts Pakistan winning only one match against South Africa and thus failed to win a crucial series, leading to the eight-team tournament.

But Pakistan captain Rizwan claimed there are no doubts about his team’s preparation and expressed his hope of doing well in the curtain-raiser against New Zealand on Wednesday.

“A global event has come to Pakistan after 29 years, so I believe the entire nation is celebrating this historic occasion. There are no doubts about our performance, we have worked hard and learned from our mistakes. We hope that we play well tomorrow Insha’Allah.

“Our sole focus is on winning the tournament for the country and our people and we hope that we achieve the desired results.”

After their campaign opener against New Zealand, the hosts and defending champions will travel to Dubai, where they will lock horns with arch-rivals India on February 23.

The home side will then play their last group-stage fixture against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on February 27.

Pakistan’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Mohammad Rizwan (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan.

Pakistan’s group stage fixtures in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

19 Feb – vs New Zealand, Karachi

23 Feb – vs India, Dubai

27 Feb – vs Bangladesh, Rawalpindi